IICA to support transfer of Mexico’s agricultural experience to the Caribbean

San Jose, Costa Rica, January 24, 2014 (IICA). Producers and technical officers from 14 of the countries that make up the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will benefit from a new training program created by Mexico’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), designed to transfer successful experiences in improving productivity.

The program, in which 10 persons from each CARICOM country will take part, will focus on the areas of protected agriculture, small ruminants (sheep and goats), agrotourism, technological innovation, horticulture, and water management. Altogether, 140 agricultural producers and officials from the Caribbean countries will spend three months receiving training in Mexico.

The agreement creating the program was signed on January 15 in San Jose, Costa Rica by the Secretary of the SAGARPA, Enrique Martínez y Martínez, and the Director General of IICA, Víctor M. Villalobos. Mexico’s Secretariat of Foreign Affairs, through the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID), will support the implementation of the program.

“The infrastructure, outstanding professional expertise, experience and supply of technological training offered by Mexico’s universities and agricultural research centers are a unique resource in the hemisphere that will make it possible to have an effective and lasting impact on the development of agriculture and rural areas in CARICOM,” the IICA Director General remarked.

Nearly USD 1.2 million will be invested in the training, which will be given in English, according to the Coordinator of IICA’s Center for the Promotion of Technical Capabilities and Leadership, Franklin Marín. He added that the ministries of agriculture and IICA Offices in the CARICOM countries would be responsible for identifying the possible participants.

During their twelve-week stay in Mexico, the Caribbean producers and professionals selected will visit educational and agribusiness organizations to see first-hand the technological innovation processes carried out in the country that have made it possible to increase agricultural productivity.

The persons trained will then return to their respective countries to conduct field demonstrations of the new techniques learned and good agricultural practices. At least 700 Caribbean producers are expected to take part in this knowledge transfer exercise.

Implementation in the Caribbean will be supervised by Mexican specialists who will spend three weeks providing direct technical assistance in the CARICOM countries and evaluating the implementation and results of the field practices.

The final stage will involve the systematization of the program and an assessment of the impact of the new knowledge and practices on agricultural productivity, in accordance with the conditions of each Caribbean nation.

The training for the CARICOM countries will complement the program of 100 scholarships that IICA and Mexico’s National Board of Science and Technology (CONACYT) award annually to Spanish-speaking professionals in the hemisphere.

The latter program enables successful candidates to study for master’s and doctoral degrees at Mexican universities and research institutes with a full scholarship from CONACYT.

For further information: 
franklin.marin@iica.int